Just as surprising as Supreme Court Chief Justice John Robertss vote to uphold the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Acts individual mandate provision is the tortuous reasoning used to support it. Robertss landmark decision gives Congress a powerful new tool for using taxes to regulate behavior.
John S. Hoff is a healthcare lawyer and policy analyst in Washington, D.C. He was an official at the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, 20012009.